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Families of Somalis missing from Minn. speak out

Three Somali families tell similar stories: A
son or nephew goes missing. A passport is gone. Days later the
phone rings, and the teen says he's in Somalia.

But the phone call is abrupt and short on details.

And then, nothing.

Breaking their monthlong silence, relatives of three teenagers
said Saturday they fear their loved ones are victims, brainwashed
to return to Somalia to fight. The impoverished nation on the Horn
of Africa is caught up in an Islamic insurgency and hasn't had a
functioning government in 17 years.

"We are not sure who is responsible," said Hussein Samatar, a
community leader and uncle to a 17-year-old who traveled to
Somalia. "But we, as a community, believe they have to be held
accountable."

Samatar and other relatives confirmed Saturday their loved ones
left Minneapolis together on Nov. 4. The young men were identified
as Burhan Hassan, 17, Mohamoud Hassan, 18, and Abdisalam Ali, 19.

Abdirizak Bihi, a community organizer and uncle to the
17-year-old, said at least three more young men left Nov. 4, and he
knows of about six others who have left and traveled to Somalia
over the last two years.

"This issue of missing children has been going on for quite
some time," Bihi said. "We want our children back home."

One man who disappeared from Minneapolis earlier is believed to
have killed himself in an Oct. 29 suicide bombing that killed more
than 20 people in northern Somalia, according to a U.S. law
enforcement official who spoke last week on condition of anonymity
because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the
case. That official confirmed that the FBI and Justice Department
were investigating.

Another U.S. law enforcement official, also speaking on
condition of anonymity, said authorities are calling that case one
of the first instances in which a U.S. citizen has acted as a
suicide bomber.

Special Agent E.K. Wilson, an FBI spokesman in Minneapolis, said
last week his office helped return the remains of a U.S. citizen to
Minneapolis. He said the body was taken from the Oct. 29 bombing,
but he would not confirm whether the remains were that of a suicide
bomber or a victim. He would not confirm the name of the deceased.

Wilson has previously said the FBI is "aware that a number of
individuals from throughout the U.S., and Minneapolis, have
traveled to Somalia to potentially fight for terrorist groups."

He said Saturday the agency is working with families and
community leaders to address their concerns. He did not confirm or
deny the existence of an investigation.

The three families who came forward Saturday said their loved
ones were good children who went to school and attended Abubakar
As-Saddique mosque.

Mahir Sherif, an attorney for the mosque, said the mosque and
its leaders have not recruited anyone to fight in Somalia.

"They did not fund any trips. They didn't arrange for any
meetings with anybody. They didn't encourage anybody to go there," he said. "They have done nothing."

Bihi, one of the organizers of Saturday's news conference, said
the names of all three teens could be revealed because the families
want the public to know about their children.

Family members said Burhan Hassan, the 17-year-old, was a senior
at Roosevelt High School; 18-year-old Mohamoud Hassan was studying
engineering at the University of Minnesota; and 19-year-old
Abdisalam Ali was studying health care at the University of
Minnesota.

The three teens knew each other and were friends, and Bihi said
none of them could have afforded a plane ticket back to Somalia on
his own. Each teen contacted his family only once after
disappearing, saying he was either in Somalia or in its capital
city of Mogadishu. The teens haven't been heard from since, Bihi
said.

While speaking to reporters, Ali's mother began to cry, saying
through a translator she was in great pain and couldn't put into
words how it feels to lose her son this way.

Warsame Hassan, a brother-in-law to Burhan Hassan, called the
disappearances horrible - especially since Somalis fled their
homeland to escape violence and provide their children with a good
education.

"We don't know who is behind this, and we are urging
authorities to get to the bottom of this," Warsame Hassan said.

The Somali population in Minnesota was more than 24,000 in 2006,
according to the U.S. Census. But local activists claim the actual
number is higher.